Ace Ventura en Afrique

I didn't think the first movie was any great shakes.

Sure, it had Carrey in it, running amok and mugging and mimicking and making every rude sound a kid would learn by eighth grade. But the story just kept getting in the way.

That's why "When Nature Calls", in my opinion, is much funnier.

The story of securing a sacred bat is neither too intrusive nor annoying and leaves room for gags aplenty.

And Carrey.... Well, he enters a slapstick marathon and wins the gold in every event. I swear the man is made of rubber.

Some of the jokes are pretty gross (the spitting ritual, the "guano" references, etc.) but why should that come as any surprise? Most comedies gear for that kind of humor anymore and, more or less sophisticated, reach the same common denominator: body fluids is funny, dude.

Still, without the fluids and functions, there are still great scenes (Ace's entrance in the dining hall, the monks' reaction to his departure, his behavior at the slide show, his driving habits, his escape from a mechanical rhino) and plenty of opportunities to see Hollywood's most uninhibited comedian use every conceivable part of his body to make us laugh.

I laughed. His work is done.

When this "Nature" calls, answer it.

Nine stars. And remember: do not pass go, do not collect $200.

Ace Venture: When Nature Calls (1995) is a movie in my DVD collection that I recently rewatched on Tubi. The storyline follows our hero, Ace, who loses one of his targets during a rescue attempt. After years of recovering in a Buddhist monastery he is approached about a job in Africa to help a tribe recover a missing sacred bat. He reluctantly takes the case and transforms back to being one of the world's greatest, and only, pet detectives.

This movie is directed by Steve Oedekerk (Nothing to Lose) and stars Jim Carey (The Mask), Ian McNeice (Valkyrie), Bob Gunton (The Shawshank Redemption), Tommy Davidson (In Living Color), Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda) and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Suicide Squad).

The storyline for this picture isn't as fun as the first film but it's still entertaining. You also lose some of the magic of discovering the Ace Ventura character for the first time. However, there's still plenty of hilarious sequences. The Monopoly guy, mechanical rhino 🦏 and Tommy Davidson fight will always be legendary. Jim Carey still delivers an amazing character and his facial expressions, mannerisms, one-liners and reactions to circumstances are fun. Ace Ventura will always be an all time great Jim Carey character.

Overall, this isn't as good as the first one, but is still worth a watch. I would score this a 8/10 and strongly recommend it.

Well, then god help you. I've known people who are not big fans of Jim Carey's style of comedy and I can see their point. He's just outrageous and rarely witty. But this movie has a bit of everything: clever dialogues, beautiful locations, and of course Jim Carey at his very best.

I find it much funnier than any of his other works. The Mask had too few of the 'mask' scenes, Pet Detective was just about OK, nothing great. This movie though is better because the story flows freely(unlike P.D) and it has a lot of Jim Carey (unlike The Mask). The scene at the monastery is actually brilliantly shot and to have such OTT comedy at what otherwise seems so mystical a location, I've never seen something like that. And lastly, yes it may seem a bit absurd, it's Ace's love for animals that comes out quite well. To have gone to a seclusion for losing a racoon(he was not paid to find anyways) is both hilarious and heart warming.

The rhino scene alone would've made this one of my favorite comedies, but there's so much more on offer.

8/10

Jim Carrey is one of those actors you will find yourself either adoring or hating. He does not ever "underact." This movie made me laugh so hard I cried (even after the fifth time!) From the robot rhino scene to the monopoly guy Jim knows how to be hilarious. I saw the first one (liked it a lot) and have to say this one is way better! I am a huge fan of Carrey. I don't think there are many people who can make such a variety of facial expressions. The only reason this is not a ten is because there is (as usual with Carrey) some inappropriate stuff thrown in. But if your love laughing and you love Jim, this movie will fit you "Like a glove!"

Despite being retired since a cliff top incident with a racoon, Ace comes out of retirement to help find a missing sacred bat that is the symbol of peace between two African tribes. However he finds things are not all as it seems.

The sequel to the first film was never going to be a fantastically inventive affair but rather more of the same, albeit not as fresh or different. The plot is almost meaningless and certainly not important to enjoying the film. The comedy is everything and it almost manages to make for a good film. Opening with an inspired and hilarious Cliff Hanger spoof followed by a reference to William Shatner's episode of the Twilight Zone, the film fails to really keep it up and slips into relying wholeheartedly on Carrey's mugging.

Mostly this is funny but it is less sophisticated than the first film (if it's possible to describe the first film as that!). The jokes become more about the faces he pulls than about any invention in the dialogue or writing. As such you'll like this or hate it based on how you like Carrey when he is manic. I like him when I'm in the mood and laughed pretty regularly here.

Carrey of course carries the film with ease but also has famous support like he did in the first film. However they are not given as much to do and are of less value – Callow, Gunton and McNeice are not that missed when off-screen. Of curiosity value are several British actors playing Nigerians – Akinnuoye-Agbaje is better known as the amazing actor from Oz on HBO and is given nothing to do here, meanwhile Okonedo is pretty and humorous for those of us who know her better for her gritty role in Clocking Off on BBC1.

Overall anyone watching this should just be aware of what they are getting – it's a silly comedy that is totally reliant on Carrey's mugging to carry it. If you're not in the mood for that then avoid – but even if you are then you should be aware that it still might not be that good a film.